In the treatment of soft tissue or skeletal injuries to the ankle joint, it is preferable to stabilize the ankle joint as well as portions of the foot and leg in the region of the ankle joint. At the outset, when the injury is in the acute rehabilitation phase, stabilization of the ankle joint generally comprises compression and significant mobility restriction thereof to reduce swelling and facilitate healing. As treatment progresses and the injury enters the return to activity phase, stabilization of the ankle joint generally requires lesser, yet still somewhat significant, mobility restriction thereof.
In the past, stabilization of the injury during the acute rehabilitation phase has required casting of the ankle joint, thereby immobilizing it. Removable ankle braces became available which could subsequently be used to stabilize the injury during the return to activity phase. Once the ankle joint was fully rehabilitated, a removable ankle brace could also be worn as a prophylaxis on the healthy ankle joint to minimize the risk of re-injury during activity. More recently, removable ankle braces have been developed which can even be employed during the acute rehabilitation phase of the injury in the place of a cast.
It is apparent that each phase of the injury has different performance requirements for the ankle brace. While presently-available ankle braces have specific utility for a given injury phase, no one ankle brace is sufficiently versatile to be useful throughout treatment of the ankle joint injury and thereafter when the ankle joint is fully rehabilitated. Thus, known ankle braces are found to exhibit at least one of the following deficiencies: lack of compression, incomplete protection of the injury, discomfort when worn with a shoe, and cumbersome when engaging in activity. As such, a need exists for an ankle brace that overcomes these deficiencies and provides effective stabilization of the ankle joint during various stages of treatment or activity.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an orthopedic ankle brace that is sufficiently versatile to have utility in the acute and return to activity phases of an injury, as well as having utility as a prophylaxis for a healthy ankle joint. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an ankle brace that is capable of providing compression to the ankle joint while adequately restricting mobility of the ankle joint during the acute phase of the injury. It is further an object of the present invention to provide an ankle brace that is capable of being comfortably worn under a shoe and which is not cumbersome to wear during activity.